While Cannes has always been self indulgent it’s never felt more irrelevant.99% of the work that wins does absolutely nothing to build brands or leave a lasting impression on consumers. It feels like a contest celebrating how well agencies were able to trick their agencies into buying something that will only be seen on LinkedIn and the agency reel.

Tell me if this is normal/okay: I’m in a Sr AD role and wrote a concept for us to shoot, promoting an experience that was my idea. It was well thought out and I wrote a script. The day of the shoot, my CD decided to direct the talent with my script. I was on set thinking “wtf” and wasn’t sure if that was normal or not. The worst part is that they totally tanked with the direction and we ended up scraping the footage and the idea. I feel like if I wrote it, I should have directed. Thoughts?

Probably walking into a lions den with this one…Art Directors when you were juniors how and when did you learn what a concept vs an execution? And tips on how to better conceptual thinking? Because I’m feeling really stupid right now.

I’m considering a move to Omnicom from Publicis- would love to hear from current/former Omnicom people how the vibes are over there.

Is walking out of the bathroom stall after taking a loud, gassy dump to the horrified and disgusted face of your CCO a good reason to start looking for a new job? Asking for a friend.